Alaine Chartrand shoots for top-six result at worlds

For Alaine Chartrand, her success and the road to get there has always involved family.

On weekends, the Canadian women’s figure skating champion drives to Toronto to train with coaches Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser — sometimes in her grandparents’ RV.

And March 31 and April 2, with the eyes of the world on her, when the 19-year-old Chartrand skates around the ice at Boston’s TD Garden, she knows she won’t be alone. It seems like half of Prescott will be there cheering her on at the world figure skating championships. Her mom Heather, her dad John, her brother Andrew, her aunt Angela, her grandparents, plenty of friends … they’ll watch from a box at the Garden, and it’ll be just like one big family for Alaine.

A year ago, Chartrand finished 11th at worlds, but she goes in this time with a Canadian title under her belt.

“I don’t know if my mindset is any different,” she said on Thursday. “I definitely gained a lot of confidence from my performances at nationals. I know I can do two clean programs in one competition — that’s one thing I’ve struggled with in the past. Being Canadian champion, I don’t know if it’s sunk in yet. My goals will always be the same, put my best performance out and see what happens. Last year, I was 11th and I want to improve on that. If I skate like I can, I can look for top six, I think that’s reasonable.”

Same as nationals, her short program will be performed to Lilies of the Valley from the Pina documentary soundtrack and her free program will be to a Gone With the Wind compilation.

The choice to use Pina came during a session with Shae-Lynn Bourne.

“She was playing lots of different music, she played the Pina music,” said Chartrand. “She really liked how I moved to it and suggested it. I like that it hasn’t been used much. It’s been a really good program for me.”

As for the free program, Chartrand said: “It’s kind of similar to Doctor Zhivago (the last program she had used). My love is going to war and I don’t know if he’s going to come back. It’s kind of sad, but also hopeful, that it’s all going to be OK. It’s a happy reunion.”

At nationals, she completed all the elements in the free program, including a triple Lutz/triple toe jump combo and a unique double Axel/single loop/triple Salchow combo.

It’s all good for a girl who hit the highway to train in Ottawa when she was six years old and has been going to Toronto or Barrie on weekends for five years, saying, ‘It’s normal for me, it’s part of my whole routine.”

In Toronto, she works with Leigh or Orser, while during the week, she rotates between Prescott and long-time coach Mary-Jayne Rashotte and Nepean, where she works with Robert Kazimir.

As a young teenager, Chartrand wanted to be just like Olympic medalist Joannie Rochette. And bit by bit, each time she goes out on the ice, she takes another step forward.

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